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Friday, January 24, 2014

Randonneurs are required to obtain "proof of passage" at certain points along a course. To facilitate this, we carry a control card. As the sport was created a long time ago, the permissible methods were determined to be a stamp or signature on the card, a receipt from a nearby business, or the answer to a pre-determined question (the answer to which could only be found by going to that location.)

A very long control card for a very long ride.

The point, of course, is to prove that the rider did not short-cut the course. So, controls are placed in such a manner that the rider MUST ride from Point A to Point B along a specific path because to do otherwise would result in a rider missing a control and thereby being disqualified.

Being an old sport full of long and storied traditions, some folks are understandably reluctant to change or modernize any aspect of the rules. I understand that. I really do. But, the unfortunate side effect of that reluctance, however, is that it sometimes results in courses that have less than ideal routing. For example, if the shortest distance between two points is a busy road, a route designer might choose the busier road because the longer (but lower traffic) road might require one or more controls. Too many controls on a route become troublesome because the rider has to stop a lot.

Road signs like these make for great info controls!

Similarly, a course might be unridable on certain days of the week or certain times of the day because the business at the control location is not open during those times.

I propose that we consider allowing the use of GPS tracks to provide proof of passage documentation. One of the arguments against this is that GPS tracks can be altered in Excel, allowing someone to cheat and fake a ride. Whenever this topic come us for discussion on our national rando email list, someone invariably chimes in with "the rules are the rules. If you don't like them, just go ride your bike."

In fact, this topic came up for discussion again just this week. I decided to write out my thoughts in response (in purple, below). First quoted is an excerpt from another list member, and then my response.

>> In the absence of a good
explaination (which was the essence of the question in my first post), I am left
to conclude there simply isn't any. Rules are rules. They have been handed
down to us and that's that. Simply accept them as they are and participate in
randonneuring, or don't. I realize this doesn't bother most of us, but it
bothers me for some reason. I guess I just like the world to make logical
sense.

The
quill pen and the mimeograph machine were handed down to us as well. Yet we no
longer use them. Instead these concepts were updated and refined into something
better, and the users of writing implements and duplicating machines are the
happier for it.

I'm
always somewhat bemused by this idea that there is no room for change or
innovation in randonneuring. Just because certain ideas or technologies did
not exist at the time randonneuring was "invented" doesn't mean that finding a
useful way to integrate these technologies into the sport is a bad thing. (And
HAD they existed at the time randonneuring was invented, I have no doubt
that our forefathers would have integrated them from the
start.)

Cyclometers didn't exist when rando began, yet now we
obsess about cue sheets down to the tenth of a mile and riders are put out when
the cue sheet is not accurate to that degree and in agreement with their
cyclometers. Very few people ride without at least a cyclometer, and yet no
one is suggesting that these riders be disallowed the use of this convenient
"modern" technology.

Because of the very small chance that someone might
spoof a GPS, the usefulness of this technology for documenting the completion of
a permanent route (or the arrival at a control) at a certain date and time is
disallowed for all, 99.999% of whom are honest, trustworthy individuals.
That's throwing out the baby with the bathwater, IMHO.

The
use of a GPS file as proof of passage and completion within time limits is
deemed unacceptable documentation for something as "meaningless" as permanents
(meaningless because they qualify you for nothing other than distance awards).
Yet we accept as ironclad proof the scribbled notation of time and initials by a
random person on something as important as a PBP qualifying brevet card. The
logical conclusion then is that it's easier to spoof a GPS file than it is to
fake a pen scribble.... Or, perhaps not.

As a GPS track is *at least* as good documentation as
an incorrectly time-stamped receipt from a backcountry store, or the illegible
scribble from a random pen, I would suggest that we not consider it total rando
heresy to allow a permanent owner to choose to allow the track to be
valid documentation that a route was completed (or a control was reached) as
cued, on the date requested, and within the time
limits.

-----

As
Norm pointed out, "all of the methods we currently employ to discourage
<cheating> are trivially easy to beat." I would therefore submit that
rather than spend so much time worrying about throwing up <ineffective>
roadblocks to thwart the 0.001% who might be tempted to cheat, that we instead
consider the ways in which we can fulfill RUSA's stated goals of, per the
website, "promoting randonneuring in the US" and "building a future for
randonneuring in the US that encourages member participation".

The
original poster (Chicken Sandwich) was looking for a way to create a route that
is available 24 hours a day. Documentation via GPS track would facilitate
this. Ergo, it's use encourages Chicken Sandwich to create the route and
encourages members to ride it. This should be considered A Good Thing, in
keeping with RUSA's stated goals.

I
recently had a permanent rider on one of my routes arrive at a control only to
discover that the only business at that location was closed (he got there before
the store opened for the day). He photographed himself with the store in the
background. He even stuck his watch (who wears one of THOSE anymore?) into the
photo. Strict adherence to RUSA's rules would suggest that I DNQ him because
he didn't provide the only "acceptable" control documentation, which was a
receipt he was unable to obtain. Would this have fulfilled the goal of
encouraging this member to continue to to participate in randonneuring? On the
contrary, I believe it would have been hugely DIScouraging to the rider. So, I
accepted his digital documentation.

We
have a local 200K permanent on a lovely route that, thanks to the many
opportunities for short cuts has no less than TEN information controls and
something like five timed controls. FIFTEEN CONTROLS on a 200K. Lovely route,
truly. But I've only ridden it once because stopping 15 times in 125 miles is
less than ideal. (I challenge you to keep your perm card dry while answering 10
info controls in the Pacific NorthWet. :-) ) So while the route certainly
discourages the potential 0.001% from cheating, I'd argue that the overwhelming
concern with cheating that requires 10 info controls, coupled with the
reluctance to accept more modern versions of proof of passage, is also serving
to discourage honest riders from riding the route as well.

-----

RUSA
is filled with bright minds, enthisiastic riders, and phenomenal volunteers
& leadership. I believe that as a community we can come up with methods to
update some of the archaic rules in ways that respect the long and storied
traditions of randonneuring, while encouraging new riders to become members, and
existing members to ride more often.

About Me

I am the founder and President of TeamEstrogen.com, an online retailer of women's bike shorts, cycling jerseys and other athletic apparel.
I've always ridden my bike for pleasure, recreation and fitness. My bike has been the vehicle to many incredible adventures. In the past few years I've taken up randonneuring, a non-competitive form of long-distance cycling. I'm not particularly fast (small engine), but I'm steady and seem to have a higher than average tolerance for sitting on a saddle for a really long time (big tank).
I completed Paris-Brest-Paris, a 1230km (765mi) randonnee held in August 2011 and London-Edinburgh-London, a 1418km randonnee held in July 2013